One Step at a Time - June 2016

[NoraC]

Back from shopping and now I'm getting a pedicure. Or waiting for one......

Frances, glad you found us. I'll be back when I get home.

We're are a mixed bag here. Some of us don't drink at all. Some of us moderate like you.
I am about 10 months AF now. Tried to moderate for years. Wasn't in the cards for me. Congratulations on reaching a good place.

I'm 57, married with one 29 year old son and a wonderful DIL.

[mama bear]

Hi Frances and welcome.
I am 55 and I too moderate. I usually only drink on Saturday date night,
Hi Nora and everyone else. I am fine, just working a lot and dealing with the Nana mess and all my other stuff.
I have been in a bit of a funk, but I am managing.
I love you all.

[Lizann]

Rusty and Nora, you guys are so sweet. I just read my book last night till hubby came home. He was at his cousins house to pick something up for the church yard sale. While we know she has not been feeling well lately we didn't think it was as bad as it apparently is. She had a kidney transplant about 20 years ago and has been doing relatively well all this time, but her kidney has failed and she is back on dialysis. The likelihood of her getting another kidney are pretty slim, something to do with her blood type. She is in her early 50s with two girls in their teens. It just beaks my heart. Really, what have I got to be down about? But I appreciate your support last night. I did cuddle with my little Lucy! Would have loved to see you dance Nora! I have two left feet too.

Glassy, you had me laughing with the 50 steps! You'll be back to 10000 in no time, I hope.

Frances welcome. So glad to have you here. I don't mind at all you talking about your moderating. I am envious. I believe that I am like Nora and just need to totally abstain. I have long stretches of sobriety now with the occassional slip up. I am 56 with 2 girls 29 and 26 and a boy 22.

AG how are you doing today. The garage yard sale was a success we made about $1400. It was a lot of laughs. For as much work as it is we enjoy hanging out together. Apparently sissy and I run a fun sale and our volunteers like working with us:welldone:
Tomorrow we start cleaning up, not so much fun!

Anyway hope everyone is doing ok and enjoying the weekend. It's kind of a cozy night here, a little rain outside and me an hubs are watching netflix. I'm feeling like some gelato, so. . . Have a good night!

[Rusty]

Good Morning, Stepping Friends!!

Sorry I have been MIA...it's been a busy weekend so far, but it's been fun. Today is the baby shower for my sister's oldest daughter. She is expecting her first baby...a boy...in early September. Aunt Rusty went overboard in the baby gift department and will most likely get a stern look from my sister, who will say, "YOU SPOIL MY CHILDREN." Of course I do. So what???

Welcome TMH and Frances!:congratulatory: It's great to have you here with us. I'm Rusty. I am a 55-year-old single woman, never married and no kids (straight, not gay...you would not believe the PMs I get from new people at MWO who have thought I was a gay man) I am in the quality industry, and I am a contractor who travels all over the world, and I live by myself. I had so many AL stops and starts, it's insane. I would be sober and then I would drink at a family function, or because I was extremely frustrated with a particular situation. I have been sober for several years now but I don't post my quit date because I think it's bad luck. I really do. Whenever I've announced/mentioned one of my accomplishments to my friends or family, the very next day, I have fallen on my face. This has been true throughout my life. I got sober through Naltrexone and Baclofen, and I successfully moderated like some of the people here, and one day, things just clicked and my quit stuck. It sounds like you are both comfortable with the progress you have made and you have solid plans. That's important.

Frances-to answer your question:

I read all areas of MWO and on AF threads I get a lot of inspiration and if I post, which is very rare, I refrain from talking about drinking since I don't want to tempt anyone. let me know if there is any kind of preference about that here.

Thank you for asking, Frances. That was very kind and empathetic. While we do have people on this thread who do moderate, people here don't advertise when they drink. We don't consider it being dishonest when we know you mod but then do not reveal how much and what you drank and when, because as you mentioned, it can tempt people who are AF and want to stay that way.

TMH-I love your tag line...the pain of regret IS WAY more painful than the pain of disciplining ourselves. I have to remember that when it comes to food and shopping. Hahahah!!!

Nora-I laughed when you said you danced around the house without any music playing. Good for you...I have two left feet, too, so I only dance in private. Hahah. Not really...I love dancing at weddings. :-) Nora, I hope I have the patience and compassion you do if/when my mom's mind goes. Your strength is an inspiration to me, and I know if I see Mom deteriorate or end up in an assisted-living place (we are trying to avoid that at all costs), I know my sobriety will REALLY be tested.

Glassy-How sweet of you to ask about me. I am home today but out of town working and then in Columbus, OH Wednesday-Friday for our annual training. I will be surrounded by Ohio State University Buckeyes, of which Mama Bear is one. If it makes you feel any better, my foot is NOT broken and I put in the same amount of steps you did this week.

Mama-thanks for checking in. I was literally getting ready to text you when you posted. Thanks, Doll.

For you new people, I am two days older than Mama Bear, so I think it gives me the right to boss her around. HAHA! I don't do it publicly anymore, only by text. :--)

Liz-so glad the yard sale was a success. Sorry to hear about hubs' cousin..wow, so young...yup, you're right...we have nothing to be down about, do we? I loved the picture of squeezable Lucy.

Skendall-I hope you're ok. I don't want to bug you but I miss you.

Hey Pauly-what are you up to today? Cooking in the crackpot? ( I love that...crackpot. Hahahah).

Red67-Is that moocher out of your house yet? Please check in. I am worried about you!

ActionGirl-so glad the Nal is working for you!!!

A cheery hello to our lovable and infrequent guests...Techie, Samstone, Mr. G., NoSugar, Stirly, Jackie, et al. OK, I am forgetting a few people. Please forgive me.

This week I will be commuting LONG distances and then training will be keeping me busy, but I will try and check in when I can. Happy Sunday, everyone!!

[frances]

Good morning everyone! Rusty that's funny about the PMs! Sounds like you have a busy week ahead - good luck!

Sounds like everyone here is doing well with not drinking...I hope everyone can continue to meet their goals!

Hi to everyone else! I hope you feel better soon mamabear. Funks can be hard.

We are having a quiet day today since the rain last night resulted in canceled games today. I guess my husband and I can't gripe about the coach's decisions today LOL! Like why would you put a person batting over .600 and significantly higher than others on the team last in the order in the toughest game of the day? Especially when you are batting 11! As the kids say "smh" (shake my head!). Maybe he has a good reason. I'd love to know what it was.

I think I'll get myself ready for church for a change. It's been awhile and that makes me feel bad. Because my daughter plays softball and wants to play in college, we are watching the women's college world series - I was up very late watching the Michigan versus Oklahoma game last night -There are these two sisters, one senior that plays on the MI team and one freshman on the Oklahoma team so it's kind of fun to see them compete. Michigan lost but they play again today at noon and I'd like to watch that - I like that team. So anyway lots of softball today even with the rain that canceled my daughter's games! It will make doing laundry a little more bearable!

I hope everyone has a great day today!

[paulywogg]

Happy Sunday all welcome to the thread Frances! I'm 42,4 kids and iIhave a sweet 3 year old g-son named Louie who you'll be hearing me talk a lot about but he's my fave person iI'moff to take a walk,enjoy the day peeps

[actiongirl46]

Happy Sunday all!! It's so nice to have TMH and Frances here. I am walking with a friend and then have another high school open house. Have a great day!!

[ToMyHealth]

Church this a.m. Went to play golf but siren went off and ended up,getting soaked. Tropical Storm Colin out in the gulf. Came home & had Facetime with 3 & 5 yo granddaughters back up in MN.
Waiting for NBC to p/u PGA golf. Like you, Frances, will get some laundry done while I'm watching.
Does anyone watch The Family? It's on ABC on Sunday nights. No episode last Sunday so I'm hoping the season isn't over. Like that, Bates Motel, The Catch and The Night Manager.

Rusty, that is so funny about the PMs. I notice you travel to,MN a bit. Sounds like you have a great job.
Well, hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.

TMH

[red67]

Hi All, yes he is out. He moved out on Friday. I cried most of this weekend, we have lived together for 24 years and even though he was a huge jerk (especially this past year), it still felt so sad. I feel like I lost the last 24 years of my life. I miss the person I always wanted him to be, does that make any sense? Anyway, I know this will pass and I will be stronger for it. It will take time, I have realized I don't even know who I am. Taking care of him was all I did for all these years. Now it's time to take care of me and build my life around people who really care about me.

On the bright side, my landscaping is getting done this week and my new deck and screen room are being built in 3 weeks. After that I will finally be done with the home projects for awhile. I bought this house a year ago and it has been non stop work but it's so worth it.

My new puppy is keeping me busy too. He is 11 weeks now and doing so good, no accidents in my house at all.

I hope you are all having a great Sunday! It's so hard to write from my phone, I wish I could write more and respond to each one of you but today is so busy for me.

Thanks all for checking on me! Hi Rusty, Mama, Nora, Liz, Pauly, AG, Frances and everyone else.

[NoraC]

Finally back – going to write as much as I can and hit post before I stand up. It’s the only way that this is going to get done. LOL
As soon as I finished typing that sentence, hubby came up and needed something. AAARRRGGGHHHHH

I am trying to type this but not having much luck. Hubby & I are having the kind of day where if we look at each other, we start a fight. I don’t mean major fights, I mean the little snipes at each other, little misunderstandings over nothing. His pain levels have been very high and it’s hard for him to function. Everything sets him off. We all try to give him space (in our very tiny house) but it is hard. He doesn’t have anywhere to go just be alone or a place to try to get comfortable unless he goes in the bedroom and lays on the bed.
I try to be patient but I’m not in the greatest mood at the moment and so we have clashed a couple of times this morning. I’m just tired and think I’ll take this day to relax. I did a lot of stuff yesterday, busy all day long. I have a stack of paperwork to sort so I’ll still try to get to that today. As my DIL told me this morning, sucks to be an adult sometimes. ROTFL

Everyone that says how patient and nice I am with my Mom, thanks but you are only hearing the good parts of me. I only post the fun things. I didn’t tell you about this morning. I was going to make some ‘homeless bags’. (Ziplock bags with misc items in them – hygiene & food items) Anyway, mom and I were going to put the bags together. She asked me the same questions over & over –How many times have I done this? Are the people grateful? How wonderful that I was doing this. There were about 4 or 5 questions/remarks that she repeated every 2 minutes for about half an hour. I did answer her nicely every single time but by the end I’m not even sure what is in each bag. I couldn’t get them put away out of sight quick enough.

Hubby walked thru and I shoved the bags at him and said please get these out of here, I’m sick of talking about this. After he came back from putting them in my car, he told me that I wasn’t the only one that was sick of listening to it. Well, because I am already in a mood, that remark pissed me off. :rant: He had been outside during the whole thing. Just because my Mom is so hard of hearing that I have to yell to talk to her. Really – is it that annoying to listen to two old women repeat the same thing every two minutes for half an hour. Seriously, the nerve of that man. :nocomment:

Seriously, he is an angel:angelpals: taking care of her without complaining. So, I'm now putting my happy face back on.

[red67]

Awe Nora, you are a saint. My mom is hard of hearing and she asks the same things over and over again so I totally understand about the frustration. Sounds like you and hubby need some alone time, maybe a date night

[NoraC]

Thanks for letting me vent. I needed that.

Frances – Just wanted to say welcome again. Boy, I so remember that obsessed thinking. Congratulations on being able to moderate. Rusty phrased it well regarding the way we talk about alcohol here. So glad that you joined us.

Rusty – that is what aunts are for. To SPOIL the children. I hope that you have a fun time. I hope that today was fun since next week is going to be so rough.

Red – I’m so sorry. I am sure that this is such an emotional time for you right now. No matter how much this needed to happen, it still hurts. In many ways, it is like ending a marriage. You are right that it is time to take care of you.

TMH – Wow, I didn’t realize that the storm would come in that quickly. Makes sense though. We don’t watch much tv except Netflix. But, we have been watching old tv shows. We leave the sound off but have closed caption on for Mom. Recently, I have cried over Bonanza and The Rifleman. I must need more entertainment. Ha.

AG – you are really sounding great. Have a wonderful day.

Pauly – good for you for walking. I should have but I didn’t. Starting to get warm now so that’s my excuse. LOL

Liz – since you have such a fun sale, you & sissy will have to fly out to help with the estate sale at Mom’s place. LOL Not looking forward to that. Hope you are having a great day.

Mama – I know that your daily life is not the easiest right now. You are doing great. I’m so proud of you for sticking with your moderation.

Glassie – I walked by the baby clothes yesterday. You must be so excited! Grandparents are for spoiling the children too.

:hiya: to everyone else that I’m neglecting right now. I hope to be back but wanted to get this posted before I get interrupted.

[paulywogg]

Red,glad everything went ok but dang,that would be hard!24 years is a loong time,Nora,you are a sweetheart,who else makes up care packages for the homeless? Don't talk down about yourself ever!!and you take great care of your mom sorry about hubs' pain,its very hard to function when you just don't feel good,TMH,be careful in that weather,hello to all,hope the days been good to you all

[Lizann]

I'm so glad to see it's busy here today. Nora, you are a saint and I can imagine how frustrating it must be to repeat yourself. Come and vent here as often as you need to. It's important for your mental health too. Hubby and I have bee snippy with each other today too. He doesn't usually get upset but it's been happening more frequently lately. Maybe because he doesn't go to the office anymore, who knows. He did apologize though.

Interesting to hear talk about PGA and softball. Not something I'm into or even understand totally. May have to tune in and see what that's all about. The only sport I watch is football and the occassional soccer games. Perhaps I need to expand my horizons.

Cleaned up the garage sale stuff in church today and I walked. Disappointed I didn't even make 10000 steps. I worked hard though lifting and moving stuff, hopefully burned some calories that way. I came home and darned if that gelato didn't just fly right into my mouth! I have got to stop eating like this. I keep telling myself it's better than drinking, though. Erin and Dan stopped in and Cjs bf came over too. I just love when the house is full with my kids. We just sat around the kitchen and laughed. They actually want to spend time with us, go figure. All in all a very good productive weekend and best of all, a sober one. Off to read one of the many books I "borrowed" from the garage sale.
Sweet dreams. . .

[NoraC]

Liz- we spent time with the kids tonight too. Fun. Laughed at your books you 'borrowed' from the sale. That's something that I always do too.

What are your days off, Pauly? I can't believe it's back to work for me tomorrow? The weekend flew by.